HILLSBORO -- About a dozen people attended the Hillsboro Utilities Commission's public hearing on the city's long-range water supply Tuesday night.

The hearing was the culmination of a three-month public comment period surrounding the Water Department and commission's designation of the mid-Willamette River near Wilsonville as the preferred alternative for the city's long-range water supply.

Kevin Hanway, water department director, said the city gets much of its water from the Tualatin River throughout the year, but relies on Henry Hagg Lake and Barney Reservoir increasingly during the peak season.

"By July and August, virtually all of the water that reaches our customers is from those two reservoirs," Hanway said.

The city is targeting the Willamette River near Wilsonville as the best alternative from a handful of options. Hanway said the mid-Willamette, which would necessitate a 22-mile pipeline, is reliable and provides high-quality water. The city would plug into a Wilsonville intake facility, he said.

It's also considerably cheaper than three other final options: buying water from Portland, raising the Scoggins Dam at Hagg Lake, and developing ground wells near Scappoose.

The city hopes to get the secondary water supply online by 2026.

Just a handful of the attendees addressed the commission, which is set to make a formal decision about which option to study further at its meeting next month.

Doug Johnson, owner of the Hillsboro Pharmacy, told the commission he was heartened to hear the supply discussion was a matter of "where" not "if."

He said that's encouraging city leaders are continuing to plan for the future. "I would hate to see us put all of our eggs in one basket with the raising of the dam," Johnson said of the long-discussed Tualatin Basin Water Supply Project, which would raise Scoggins Dam by 40 feet.

That project, along with the Portland purchasing option and Scappoose aquifer project, would cost upwards of $1 billion, according to projections that include 30-years of operating costs as well as a shared price tag with other municipalities or agencies.

The mid-Willamette option would cost $370 million for Hillsboro, and $870 million overall.

Water officials gave the commission a breakdown of the public outreach efforts. More than 160 people were involved in some nine scheduled meetings. Overall, citizens are largely interested in the specifics of the project, according to staff.

Beyond the obvious concerns about water quality and price, people just want to know how the mid-Willamette option, if pursued, will actually be completed.

Nancy Willmes, a Washington County resident who attended the hearing, testified and said she was "impressed" by the department's outreach efforts. She said she hoped the big questions -- like whether the city has to purchase the right-of-way to get water from the river to the city, and whether the quality will be consistent -- are answered by staff and the commission.

The commission will vote on whether to continue to study the mid-Willamette option at its next meeting at 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 12.